Navigating the City of Dreams
by whitesheepcbd
Summary: Drabble series inspired by the latter half of Glee's fifth season, after everyone has moved to New York City. All characters will be featured in turn. Some drabbles will be reactions to episodes, and others might be unrelated to canon events.


**A/N: Wow, it's been a looong time since I've posted anything here. I've been writing during my ff net absence, but not always posting here. As a reminder, I'm also on Tumblr under the same username. Feel free to come say hello there. **

**This drabble is a reaction fic to 'Opening Night' and takes place immediately after the reading of the NY Times review, when everyone has returned to the loft for sleep. This one is Klaine-centric. I tend to write Klaine more often than other characters or pairings, but my plan with this series is to alternate chapters featuring all members of the NYC crew. **

* * *

The flipped mattress had clean sheets on it, with last night's sheets set aside to be burned later. _It'll be like an exorcism, Kurt said._ They hung an extra sheet—the darkest they had—over the window to block out the brightest of the early morning light.

And finally, feeling light headed with exhaustion now that the adrenaline of the night was finally wearing off, Blaine slid under the cool sheets and automatically turned on his side to face his fiance, reaching a hand out to search. Slow smile as their fingers laced, though Kurt didn't open his eyes. Blaine knew he wasn't quite ready to sleep, though. He could feel the tension through their joined hands.

"Do you want to tell me?" he asked softly, though they'd turned on their white noise machine out of habit and the girls were probably asleep already anyway.

Eyelids fluttered, offering only a glimpse of blue (dark blue in the dim) before the lashes settled against his cheek again. "Tell you what?" He yawned, adjusting the pillow under his head.

"What you're upset about."

Considering look through his lashes. "Why do you think I'm upset?"

Blaine tried to choose his words carefully. "I saw the look on your face when Schue said his baby's middle name."

Stillness before their fingers slid apart, and Kurt turned to his back, not looking at him. Blaine waited, wanting to move closer again, to curl up to his side and offer comfort, but sensing that wasn't what was wanted. He waited instead, gathering up a wad of blanket to hold to himself in place of Kurt's hand.

"I thought…." Kurt started, eyes still on the ceiling. "One day, I might give one of my children Finn as their middle name." His head turned to meet Blaine's eyes again. "I'm just annoyed that he stole my idea, that's all."

"You've thought about names for your kids?" Blaine asked, heart thumping a little.

"_Our_ kids, Blaine. And of course I have."

"We've never talked about kids." They hadn't. They were barely out of high school. "So you….you want them?"

Shush of the fabric as he slid back down, scooting close again. "Only if it's with you," and they smiled at each other a moment. "Besides, we've talked about kids. Even names."

It took Blaine a moment to realize what he was talking about. "That video? You weren't serious about Hepburn and Tracy, were you?"

"And what if I was?"

"Well, I guess I could think about those names, but…I thought we were just fooling around with names for the video. I mean, it's not like Quinn was serious about donating an egg for us. Unless…you haven't talked to her about it, have you?"

"God no, Blaine. Nothing I said in that video should be taken seriously." Eyes closed again, and he looked ready to sleep, but something was niggling at Blaine's mind.

"Not even the part about Schue saving your life?"

It was a long moment before he answered. "Glee Club saved my life. My soul. The friends I made in Glee, they saved my sanity, even when they were the ones driving me insane." Small quirking smile. "And Mr. Schue founded the Glee Club, so indirectly at least, I guess that part was true."

He waited a beat. "But?"

He let out a small sigh, a tired release that turned into a half-yawn before he could continue. "But there was so much else he did wrong, or just didn't do at all. He always tried to act like he cared so much more than the other teachers, but when it came down to it, he looked the other way when I was bullied, just like the rest of them." Blaine didn't hear this sort of bitterness from his finace often.

"He played favorites," Kurt continued, looking not at Blaine but into the past which was apparently over his shoulder. "I'm not saying Rachel didn't deserve her share of solos—tonight proved what a star she is—but there were other people in Glee Club who deserved them, too.

"I know he pictured himself as some sort of father figure and mentor to all of us, and to Finn in particular. But Finn had a dad. My dad. Our dad. Did Will Schuester think he needed to replace MY dad? What right did HE have to name his kid after Finn?"

Blaine paused to make sure he was done, before gently prying Kurt's hand from his arm where he'd gripped tightly at some point during his monologue. Held that hand to his chest instead, stroking gently over his knuckles, waiting for him to calm again.

"I'm sure he thought he was honoring Finn's memory," he offered. Kurt only gave a humorless snort in response. "Just like Rachel was honoring his memory by giving him a seat at her opening night." He'd seen the tightening of Kurt's mouth, the way his posture became much more deliberate like Kurt had to remind himself to stand up straight, upon seeing the empty seat in the midst of their group.

"It was a nice thought. But I wonder if she thought about what it would feel like for us, to sit there next to an empty seat, knowing who it was for?" He turned his face into his pillow, and now the moment was right for Blaine to move closer. He scooted up slightly so he could cup Kurt's head to him, letting him wrap his arms around Blaine's waist. They didn't usually adopt this position, since Kurt's longer legs hung off the end of the bed when he slid down to lay his head on Blaine's chest. But at the moment, it felt right.

He carded his fingers through Kurt's hair, letting him cuddle for a moment, waiting for him to speak.

"He was my brother, Blaine. I…I never thought I'd have a brother, and then I did, and now…I don't anymore."

He tried to imagine losing Cooper, self-centered, infuriating big brother than he was. He couldn't.

"And I know everyone grieves in different ways, and all that." Kurt lifted his head to look up at him. "But do they think about how the rest of us will feel, when they name their children after the person we've lost, or buy theatre seats for someone who won't be there?"

Blaine didn't have an answer for that, so simply raised up enough to drop a kiss on Kurt's forehead.

"I was shocked when she stood up to Sue," he offered, hoping to distract him. "I'm not sure which performance was better—last night, or this morning."

"Mmm….I'd have to say Funny Girl. By a narrow margin. Because witnessing the takedown of Sue Sylvester was almost worth the ticket price of a Broadway show." Kurt grinned, relaxing. Blaine ran his fingers through his hair again, something he was only allowed to do at times like these, when they were alone and Kurt knew he'd have time to style it before facing public scrutiny.

"Rachel proved that she's over Sue," he told him, cupping his jaw. "That her high school enemies don't have power over her anymore. And you shouldn't let your high school ghosts haunt you either. You've moved on. You're in New York, living your dream. This is your life now."

"Our life," Kurt reminded him, leaning into his hand.

"Yeah, our life," he agreed before Kurt laid his head back down.

A few moments passed with only the noise machine speaking, and Kurt grew heavier against him.

"So…" he murmured, feeling himself slip toward sleep. "Kids? Adoption or"—yawn—"sur'gacy?"

"Blaine…" Kurt's voice came sleepy from his chest. "Don't you think that can wait till after sleep? And coffee?"

"Yeah. After coffee."


End file.
